Newbie question regarding enlargements

[robharrisva]

I would appreciate advice on the way to achieve the highest quality 8 X 10 print from an online photo album. The photos in question are the 35mm group family photos from this years' family reunion.

Specifically, is it going to produce a better 8 X 10 if I scan a 5 X 7 print produced from a negative rather than a 4 X 6 print produced from a negative? After scanning them, they will be uploaded to my Wal-Mart photo album where family members can view and order prints.

I'm currently waiting on the 4 X 6 prints and negatives to come back from the lab. Would it be worth it to, in turn, take the negatives to a lab to have 5 X 7 prints produced or should I simply make sure that I scan the 4 X 6 using a high enough resolution with my HP ScanJet 5300C? The film speed was 200 and the camera was a point-in-shoot Fuji Discovery 1000 Zoom Date.

Thanks.

Rob

 

[Osmer_Toby]

you'll always get a better enlargement the less you have to enlarge. your best bet, though, is to scan directly from the negative. have the lab do a hi res scan for you if you do not have a negative scanner of your own. barring that, go with the larger print for your flatbed scanner.

 

[robharrisva]

you'll always get a better enlargement the less you have to enlarge. your best bet, though, is to scan directly from the negative. have the lab do a hi res scan for you if you do not have a negative scanner of your own. barring that, go with the larger print for your flatbed scanner.

Thanks for the tips! My HP ScanJet 5300Cxi came with a slide adapter. I think I'll get some slides processed from the negatives and then scan the slides at a high resolution. In the future, I'll look to invest in a dedicated negative scanner.

 

[rangefinder]

I've never used the flat bed scanner with a transparancy adapter. I've heard both good and not so good about them.

You have another option. When you send out your next roll of film for processing get the picture CD. It's about $3.50 extra. Then see if the scans they made will help you get what you want.

 

[Walt]

Before I would go through the bother to have a slide made from the negative I would just get the lab to do a scan from the negative. One less step to lose resolution from.

 

[robharrisva]

I've never used the flat bed scanner with a transparancy adapter. I've heard both good and not so good about them.

You have another option. When you send out your next roll of film for processing get the picture CD. It's about $3.50 extra. Then see if the scans they made will help you get what you want.

Yes, I've requested the CD before from Wal-Mart, but I don't believe the scans were "high resolution". Therefore, after Osmer_Toby suggested having the lab to do a high resolution scan from the negatives I checked with a local lab. The lab wanted approximately $18.00 to high resolution scan my negatives onto a CD (There is a $14.95 minimum which is the price of processing a 24 exposure roll and receive 4 X 6 prints plus $3.00 for the CD). I was only concerned about 3 shots from the roll (The family group photos) for 8 X 10 prints. Perhaps, I'll shop around with more labs tomorrow before making my final decision. Thanks for the advice.

 

[robharrisva]

Before I would go through the bother to have a slide made from the negative I would just get the lab to do a scan from the negative. One less step to lose resolution from.

Makes good sense. I'll shop around tomorrow with more labs for a better deal. Thanks for the advice.